Khemka courts record number of transfers to fight graft

Chandigarh, April 5: The whistleblower IAS officer from HaryanaAshok Khemka has been transferred once again. Perhaps this is the price Khemka has to pay again and again whenever he exposes corruption.

Khemka is the same man who created political storm alleging irregularities in land deals involving businessman and son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Robert Vadra and realty giant DLF.

On Thursday, April 4, Khemka was transferred for the 44th time in less than 20 years of his bureaucratic career.

Khemka, who till yesterday was serving as Managing Director, Haryana Seeds Development Corporation, has been posted as Secretary, Haryana Archives.

The reason behind his transfer is as he had recommended a criminal case against a German pesticides manufacturing company for making false claims of selling round Rs 60 crore worth fungicide to farmers in Haryana.

He refused to speak on being transferred yet again in less than six months.

"I will not say anything now," Khemka told PTI.

Later, when asked if he was being targeted, Khemka said, "I guess so. It was not a routine transfer. It was a one-off transfer.

"And the transfer this time was quite humiliating. At 3:30 PM, an officer of the rank of Under Secretary of the Government, at least five levels below me, appeared with an order of the Principal Secretary of the Agriculture, appointing him as the MD of the Corporation and asked me to relieve myself," Khemka told news channels.

Khemka was shifted from the Director General Consolidation of Land Holdings and Land Records-cum-Inspector General of Registration to the Seed Development Corporation in October last year shortly after he initiated a probe into the land dealings between Vadra, son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, and realty giant DLF. After cancelling the mutation of the land deal, Khemka had alleged that he had received a number of threat calls.